


Bound

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: Who Wants to Live Forever [7]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2013-12-21
Packaged: 2018-01-05 10:30:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s a bit domestic but I find myself less opposed to it than I would have say a year ago.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bound

Morgan woke with a start. He was in bed alone; in the room alone. It was dark but his eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. After a thorough look around, Morgan jumped out of bed. He put on a pair of boxer briefs before running out of the master bedroom and down the stairs. He didn’t stop running until he was in the kitchen.

“Are you alright?” he asked. Morgan was out of breath but not because the run winded him. Erin screamed in surprise as she turned around. Her back had been to the door; she expected to be alone at this hour. The tin she was holding fell and clattered on the linoleum.

Neither dog, Clooney or Mudgie, made a move though both were in the room. Their masters were doing something weird but no one was in danger.

“I'm fine.” Erin bent to pick up the tin. “You scared me witless.”

“I didn’t mean to. I…” Derek seemed confused for a moment. He ran his hand over his face. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Erin nodded. “Are you?”

“Um…yeah. I'm good. I'm good. I think I just woke up too fast or something.”

“Well I'm making some tea. Would you like some?”

“I'm not a big tea fan.” Morgan put his hand at his side, rubbing Clooney’s head when the Rottweiler came to him.

“You have all these amazing teas in your cabinet.”

“Penelope wants to make sure I stay cleansed, and stuff. She brings me tea. OK, um, I'm going back to bed.”

“Are you sure you're alright?” Erin half-filled the kettle with water.

“Yeah.” Morgan nodded. “Did you hurt yourself earlier? Even if it was something minor, were you injured?”

“My hand was wet and slipped when I was taking the knives from the dishwasher. I cut myself but it wasn’t much.” She held up a finger. “It’s already gone.”

“Right, OK.” He turned to walk out of the room. “We’ll walk the dogs in about an hour.”

“It should be light by then.”

Erin watched him walk out and wondered what was wrong. She couldn’t pretend to know everything about Derek Morgan. She believed that she probably knew him better than most. Derek didn’t let many people in and Erin understood that. They had that trait in common. 

Something was wrong, she could see it in his eyes. Now that Erin was alone in the kitchen she felt it in her belly. Doing her best to shake it off, she put the kettle on and tried to pick out a tea. A blend to calm her nerves would probably be best.

***

“Tell me what's wrong.” Erin said. “You may not like it but you're bad at hiding things from me. What I should say is you're bad at hiding _this_ from me.”

Derek looked at her. They were walking side by side under a large umbrella. The rain was light but falling steady. Erin held Mudgie’s leash with one and a cigarette in the other. Derek walked Clooney as he held the umbrella. 

Erin looked concerned; the last thing he wanted to do was lie to her. He also didn’t want her worrying for nothing. She had a lot on her plate, so did he. There was really no easy way to do any of this.

“I had an unpleasant dream. I woke up too soon…I think I was in some kind of altered state. That’s the tough part about living so many years. You can dream of all kinds of places and all kinds of things. I'm good though.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah.” Morgan nodded.

“Say it please.”

“Say what, Erin?”

“Say that you promise.”

“Woman, you are something else.” Derek shook his head and smirked. “I promise. Is that good?”

“It’s good.” She nodded. “Things have been a little strained since you got back.”

“You think?”

“What do you think?” Erin asked. 

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Derek Morgan looked no different but she felt he was different. Maybe the Eastern European job took something out of him. In his line of work there was no doubt he saw the worst in people. Erin knew something about that from experience. If he’d been doing it for centuries he might need some time off. All the money in the world couldn’t replace a tattered mind.

“We've been spending a lot of time together.” Derek replied. “It’s a bit domestic but I find myself less opposed to it than I would have say a year ago. I don't know,” he shrugged. “I like it.”

“I like it too.”

“So what's the problem?” he asked.

“You're projecting.” She said.

“No, I answered your first question, and you're profiling. I'm just asking a second.”

“Well here’s a third for you. Why did you come running down to the kitchen this morning? Why did you ask if I’d injured myself.”

“That’s two questions.” He smiled.

“Morgan…”

“I had a bad dream. It was more than a dream; it felt as if I was in the middle of something very real. You were hurt and when I woke up I rushed to find you to make sure that it really was just a dream.”

“It wasn’t a vision or premonition, was it?” Erin asked. She tried to control the fear in her voice. She wasn’t afraid, just concerned. How long would it take to get used to the fact that everything looked the same but that nothing was. “I'm not in danger, am I?”

“I don’t think you're in danger. That doesn’t mean it’s not complicated.”

“Oh God,” Erin laughed as they turned the corner to make a circle back to Derek’s house. They'd walked about a half mile. “I think complicated is the new black. What else is new?”

“I felt you in my dreams. I know you’ve felt me in yours. That means we’re bonded. Bonding isn’t just romantic…most of the time it isn’t. Bonding can get complicated because like all things alive, immortals have bloodlines.”

“Like how Connor and Gavin were cousins?” Erin asked.

“Who?”

“ _Highlander_.”

“Oh right; it’s something like that. But not all bonds happen like that. Sometimes it’s just fate and two people are connected. It usually starts with the dreams. If you dream of an immortal it doesn’t always mean you're bonded.”

“I think you're talking in circles.” Erin said.

“No.” Morgan said. “And it’s not just immortals. Anyone in our world can be bonded to another through fate. The best example I can think of is Sam and Emily Prentiss. Their bond runs so deep that if Emily cuts her hand right now, Sam will feel something. It doesn’t matter where in the world he is.”

“Oh shit. But I thought he and his wife were fated.”

“They are. There are different levels of bonds just as there are anything else.”

“Are you bonded to anyone else?” Erin asked. She would have to dig back into her book tonight and look up bonding. One of these days everything they discussed wouldn’t confuse Erin and give her a headache.

“Penelope.”

“You promised to tell me the story of how you met.”

“Um, it was in Paris 1942. I was working in the Resistance and she spilled a drink all over me. Then she freaked out when Clooney barked at her. I steadied her on her feet and she took my arm and told me that we’d be together forever. She wasn’t wrong. It bugs me how rarely wrong she is.”

“And it was never romantic?” Erin asked.

“No. Lots of people ask me that and I wonder why everyone seems to care so much. I don't know, I guess even in the 21st century it’s hard to grasp a man and woman just being best friends. Penelope and I don’t make it easy for others but how we roll is no one else’s business. She’s been with Kevin since like the year 2.”

“Do you mean that literally?”

“Almost.” Derek replied. “And I wasn’t talking about you…when I said it was no one’s business.”

“People ask me about us all the time.” She said.

“People like who? David Rossi?”

“Hell no, well maybe once or twice. You have a bit of a reputation but I'm starting to see that no one really knows you like they think they do.”

“Are you including yourself in that grand, sweeping statement?” Morgan asked.

“I don’t think so. But I won't pretend I know everything about you either. I'm sure no one does.”

“No one knows all about anyone. That’s between you and whatever you believe in.”

“So we’re bonded?” Erin sighed as she thought about it. 

She had no problem being bonded with Derek Morgan. It was nice to know there were some people in this world who had her back no matter what. But romance could be fleeting and knowing that someone you once had a bad romance with was now stuck to you like glue was in no way appealing. She didn’t want that to happen between them. And she knew that true romance wouldn’t.

“I've been wrong once or twice.” Derek replied. “I'm not wrong about this.”

“I really don’t want to give you the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ speech. It is me…its really not you Derek.”

“You lost me.”

“We’re bonded, and even if it turns out we’re not we are friends. I want to be friends. I've come to care about you and at this time in my life I just need to surround myself with people who can support me in this new life I'm leading. You're quite comfortable with this thing we have going and that’s fine…but I'm not. I can't do it anymore.”

“OK.” He looked at her. “You know I never want you to be uncomfortable. Friends first and everything else after, or never if that’s better for you. I think you’ve been trying to tell me that for a while now.”

“I don’t want to lose you.” Erin barely whispered.

“You're stuck with me woman.” Derek grinned. “Cross my heart and all that stuff. What do you want for breakfast?”

They were almost back at his house. The rain was slacking but Derek knew it was in the forecast all day. He wanted to work out, play with Clooney, and then would spend the evening on the town. There was always someone looking for him and vice-versa. He’d have a few drinks, see a few folks, and probably walk away with a job. He needed to call Lindsay so they could meet up. For the moment Derek would ignore the rock in the pit of his stomach and get on with things. 

“I should probably just go home. I've taken up enough of your time.”

“I've never thrown you out, Erin. Just have some breakfast, and then you can go on and do anything else you need to.”

“I need two weeks.” She said. “Two weeks just to figure things out, on my own, and to finish that book. I need to breathe and I'm not pushing you away, I promise, but…”

“You want to make sure you can stand on your own.” Derek finished her sentence.

“Yeah.” She almost smiled when she said it. “I can't lean on you, Morgan. I can't lean on anyone. And being secure there are people in my corner when the shit hits the fan isn’t the same as leaning. You know?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. He let Clooney’s leash go when the house was in sight to put his arm around Erin. The Rottweiler remained at his side anyway. “We all have to find our way in this world. I want you to be at a place where you feel like you can be Erin again, whoever that woman wants to be. Every immortal goes through this.”

She didn’t say anything else. When they walked up the steps, Derek started talking about French toast. Erin said she was going to stay outside for a few minutes and get some air. He left her to it. Mudgie stayed with her. 

She leaned on the closed front door, taking in a ragged breath. She sure as hell wasn’t going to cry. Erin Strauss would rather wander into traffic than cry. She covered her face with her hands, biting hard on her lip. 

Mudgie cuddled close and when she crouched down, he licked her face and nuzzled her. Erin wrapped her arms around the dog’s neck and held him. It took a few minutes but she got herself together. She was doing the right thing. The urge to cry and vomit would surely pass.

Taking deep breaths in through her nose and out of mouth, Erin got her bearings. She stood again, taking a cigarette case and lighter from her pocket. She lit the Marlboro Mild and deeply inhaled the poison. Mudgie stuck close as she let the feelings run through her veins. Erin took her cell phone from her pocket, quickly scrolling through the numbers. She slid her finger across the one she was looking for and listened to it ring.

“I know I'm a lousy friend and I probably only call when I need something and I wouldn’t be at all shocked if you totally hated me.” Erin said after the voicemail beep. “I just need to talk to someone. I need to talk to someone who knows me. I'm thinking about getting out and teaching; do you think I could still do that? Please call me when you get a chance. I'm going to be a better friend, I promise.”

She had barely hung up when the phone rang. 

“Were you screening your phone calls?” Erin asked.

“I reached the phone too late.” Ursula Kent said. “You're not a lousy friend.”

“Did you listen to the voicemail too?”

“No, you just always say that when it’s been too long since we’ve talked.”

“I need to get better about so many things.” Erin said.

“What’s the matter?” Ursula asked. She’d known Erin for a long time. There would be gaps when they weren’t seeing or communicating with each other. Both were busy and sought after in their respective fields. But the seeds of the friendship had been planted so long ago it was impossible to cut the roots.

“I'm an immortal.” She said it before she even realized it was coming out of her mouth. Erin gasped but it was a little late for that.

“Good, I'm a witch.”

“Ursula, I'm being serious.”

“And you think I'm not?” Ursula asked. “I'm Volura, Erin. God it feels so good to tell you that.”

Erin couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She didn’t know much about Volura but she had been reading more about all kinds of beings in the new world she inhabited. She’d known Ursula half her life. How many other people from her other world were hiding supernatural secrets?

“I’ll take you to dinner tomorrow. There’s a lot we need to talk about.”

“Absolutely.” Erin nodded. “I am sorry for not being a better friend. You’ve surely been one to me.”

“It looks like you have more time now.” Ursula replied. “You can make it up to me.”

When she went into the house, Erin smelled breakfast and coffee. It was a comforting smell. Derek was at the griddle making French toast.

“Are you alright?” he turned to her and smiled.

“I think so.” She nodded, sitting down at the table. “I think I'm going to be. I’ll be sure to let you know.”

***


End file.
